Here’s a twist that a certain rugged mystery novelist might not have come up with: Castle creator Andrew W. Marlowe is stepping down as showrunner, TVLine has learned.

Marlowe — who served as the ABC series’ showrunner through its first six seasons, the last of which was its most watched ever — will continue to maintain a day-to-day presence on the show while also starting to develop new projects as part of his overall deal with ABC Studios.

Succeeding Marlowe as showrunner, starting with the upcoming Season 7, will be David Amann, who joined Castle as an executive producer in Season 3.

“Over the past four seasons, David has proven himself to be a tremendous leader and a great steward of our show’s unique voice,” Marlowe said in a statement. “I’m excited to continue our creative collaboration as he assumes his new responsibilities.”

As a writer, Amann has had a hand in crafting some of Castle‘s best received episodes from recent seasons, including the post-coital Season 5 opener “After the Storm,” the intense “Under Fire,” “Disciple” and “In the Belly of the Beast,” and even the offbeat “That ’70s Show.”

There better be a hell of an opener this season or I’m checking out after the jackass move in the May finale. I mean, I would have been okay with a blast from the past showing up if some kind of drama had to happen. But they took it to the extreme and left so many people upset. SMDH

I totally agree with you about the season finale, it was absolutely horrible! There was no reason to have ended the season that way and I really hope they can somehow get themselves out of the mess they created with whatever season premier they have in mind for season 7! If that was Andrew Marlowe’s idea then maybe it’s a good thing someone new is stepping in and I do like the episodes he wrote.

I also agree, in fact (don’t throw stones) I was kind of happy the big overblown wedding didn’t happen. I’d much rather see a simpler, more private, more emotional wedding more in keeping with Caskett’s relationship. All they need is Rick and Kate, their close relatives and the “family” from the precinct.

And I can’t wait to see what they’ve cooked up to explain Rick’s disappearance!

I agree. I’ve been thinking lately (mostly because I just watched all 6 seasons) that a smaller wedding would be better. Maybe they can get married by the swings since they’ve played a part throughout the show (at least the last few seasons).

Also, I’m in the minority (which I usually am when it comes to shows I watch) when it comes to the finale. I enjoyed it and loved the ending. I’m also excited to see who is behind the kidnapping since there’s multiple choices to who could be behind it.

Yes, we know that Castle is alive. We also know that Castle and Beckett will marry.
They do owe the fans of six seasons that.
If Marlowe is going to work with ABC to develope programs then so be it.
Just give us our Castle ans Beckett as a married couple, fighting crime, as always and we will be happy.
I’m ready for season 7. Actually-I’m ready for all the season they want to give us.

Totally agree. I mean, there’s giving a long-successful show the benefit of the doubt after a minor misstep and then there’s – well, whatever season-long debacle we want to call what we fans had to endure this past year, culminating in a really terrible decision in the finale. (Well, let’s be honest: SEVERAL really terrible decisions in the finale.)

He’s not stepping down for any artistic issues with the show or out of any issues with fan frustration. He wants to develop multiple projects and you can’t really do that if you’re the sole showrunner on Castle. He clearly picked someone who’s been a right hand person and who’s already probably been prepping to do this. We just didn’t know publicly. Andrew’s still gonna be there, just not doing all the managerial behind the scenes stuff.

Even though AWM might have some haters, I for one are not at least thrilled with this development.
I was already thinking before that season 7 will be the last, but after reading this I’m even more sure.
This is just sad :(

Maybe the writer stepping in for Marlowe will bring new and fresh idea’s considering how badly Andrew Marlowe screwed up the season finale! I think this may be a good thing and you are being really pessimistic!

I’m pretty darn sure this will be the final season. I really can’t see Nathan Fillion signing on for anymore. He has stated in the past on numerous occasions that he likes the way that the BBC runs tv shows & ends them after just a few seasons when they’re still good. Although with Marlowe now gone maybe they’ll actually write some real story lines for him instead of him just cracking a couple of jokes here & there & looking in awe at Beckett.

Everyone is having ago about the finale but come on the whole of last season wasn’t up to scratch he had to go. With numbers down right across the board Blacklist and now NCIS LA as competition Castle has to bring its “A” Game as the choice as improved ten fold at the Monday 10 pm timeslot, that’s fact. Now hopefully the new guy will respect the supporting cast more and make this a true ensemble instead of it only being about two main characters the shows grown past that. ( More Espo/Laney – Alexis/Castles – etc )

Well Matt did say in the article “Marlowe – who served as the ABC series’ showrunner through its first six seasons, the last of which was its most watched ever – “, so maybe last season wasn’t quite the disaster you say. Anyway, AM is still going to be involved but someone who has been involved in some of the finest moments of the show is stepping in, so it could be a very good thing. Shows usually suffer most when the Big Boss starts concentrating on other projects and loses focus on the primary show. Put me down as cautiously optimistic.

He’s been there for years. “New and fresh”? He’s a long time member of the team and I say good. Marlowe’s stepping down of his own accord and picked his successor so joke’s on you I guess. He didn’t screw up the finale, you just wanted to have Castle: The Uneventful Wedding Hour Edition which would’ve bored anybody who actually loves good storytelling to tears.

To me the finale WAS screwed up, but not because of the lack of the wedding (though I was rooting for it) or for the car accident (that might actually turn out pretty cool) but the terribly cliched writing all around. The whole she’s already married has been done many times. For making Beckett look like an idiot by “not thinking that her marriage back then was real. The fact that it’s never come up even though she had to have been heavily vetted for her job earlier this year.

If you’re going to hold Castle & its SLs accountable for authenticity, good luck w/ that! Castle is pulp fiction, most of the time implausible, but you just have to go w/ it. I wasn’t bothered by the finale but I DID feel it was cheap writing to build an ENTIRE season around a wedding that never happened. That’s just a low blow to your audience and one which was completely unnecessary. I don’t care if the wedding was a minute long, at least give us that and THEN pursue a wacky cliffhanger!

Whether this had happened or not, season 7 would probably still have been the last season for Castle. I’d be stunned if Nathan wanted to sign on for more after his contract is up. He probably wants to do other projects, maybe some movies. And the other cast members might be ready to do the same.

Actually, I find it humorous that some of you are more interested in the individual actors then the “Castle” series/story. I hear so much, usually from the same dozen or so people, that poor Mr. Fillion might be tired or bored or not being sufficiently possitive stroked..so he might just rush off to the many other offers he has waiting!! Pray tell just what great offers might you be referring to? Maybe he has many offers, but neither you nor I know that and it is unlikely that it would be as the romantic lead in a highly regarded tv show. Be careful what you wish for. I personally don’t think he would just up and leave a highly successful show. He is great in the role of “Castle”, makes a huge salary, has an amazing co-star who carrys her share of the load and a fabulous supporting cast. If that doesn’t satisfy him, well good luck. I’m sure the rest of the excellent actors in the show will survive it! And hey, I think he’s great but enough of this woe is me garbage!

Ok, so has anyone actually heard or read that Nathan is getting antsy to move on??? I haven’t!! He has signed on for Season 7, so let’s not spread rumors that he is thinking of moving on. There would be

Lynn,I really don’t care if Nathon leaves or not. After his little no show last year, and his temper tantrum,because Stana was getting more show time.I hope he does leave,We all know who carries the show most of the time anyway.

lol you really believe that gossip about tantrums, do you? guess you believe that Stana had a fling with James Brolin also as the same rag printed both. and contract negotiations happen all the time, sometimes in a big way. we just aren’t made privy to it usually.
the fact that someone leaked it to the press only says that the network side wasn’t shy to play dirty, so may be you should start questioning their motives. but sure, shows/networks are always angelic, have only the best intentions and fan interests in mind lol. and all actors who may have a disagreement with them are greedy bastards by default.
let’s be realistic, however much you may detest a title actor of a show, without that actor show can’t survive. it’s just automatic cancellation. we’re not in the 80s soap world.

Hey, don’t give up just yet M. Watch Season 7 opener first and lets see if they can redeem themselves. Marlowe did say it will pick up where it left off, with Kate still in her wedding dress and apparently still at the crash scene. BTW, don’t think Castle’s dad had anything to do with it. Hope he doesn’t come back any time soon.

I’m surprisingly OK with that. The eps mentioned are some of the best this season.
I hope that they solve this nonsense and he helps write some good episodes. Enough of these whacky nonsense and does away with Bratty Alexis. She was the worst!
I also hope that with ep 150. Its more poignant and amazing like the bomb episode. That should have been the 100th ep.

What a shame about the name calling.
Some of us do like Alexis.
And while some are bad mouthing Marlowe, lets keep in mind, he did sell this progam to ABC. Most of us are happy with what we get each week. They are not going to please every fan – every week.

You are aware that Alexis was written bratty this year correct? It wasn’t Molly Quinn’s fault. All they have to do is write her character better. Same with Castle. It’d be nice to see Nathan get something to do this year. He hasn’t had an episode written for him since Hunt.

I will be forever grateful to Marlowe for creating such an amazing show, but it is no lie that it has been stale for a while. So even though I‘m sad that he is stepping down, I wholeheartedly believe that David Amann will steer the show in the right direction again. What about Terri Edda Miller? Will she continue on the Castle staff or will she follow Marlowe into his other projects?

Sorry to see him go, but I’m not too surprised. Wasn’t he developing another show for ABC or did that fall through? I would imagine he’ll still have a ton of input on the show since he’ll still be there day-to-day, but it’s probably to free him up from whatever nitty-gritty stuff takes up a showrunner’s time. And, this only reinforces my thought that this might be the last season of Castle, which, while sad, I think comes at a good time.

It could be interesting to find out what day to day really means.Marlowe may know he know he can’t be too involved because that could take away from his replacement a little.So i could see him being involved a lot at the beginning but then slowly back away from the show over time.Plus as iwrote in another post maybe he’s planning this for awhile and getting his replacement ready to take over when the time was right which is now.That way the cast and crew would be prepared too and not be blindsided.

This makes me nervous, but maybe it will bring in something fresh. This past season there were some really amazing episodes, but when there were bad ones, it was really bad. Sometimes changes are good.

Even though Marlowe is stepping down as the showrunner i’m sure he’ll still play a big part in the show moving forward.Also i can understand him wanting to do other stuff and knowing Castle would take up time.So he may have had to choose.Plus i’m glad that his replacement is someone who has been on the show for a long time.Also i wouldn’t be surprised if Marlow has been thinking about this for a long time and decided now was the best time to step down.

I agree, I am sure he had been thinking about this for a while. He did have another project in the works. I think David will do a great job he has been there a long time and knows the direction of the show. I look forward to what he will do.

So Marlowe (and Miller) wrote the finale with the knowledge that he’s stepping down as showrunner. No wonder he wants to stall the wedding so that Amann can have more freedom with the show’s direction next season (and hopefully, beyond). Glad it’s Amann that’s taking over. He’s has written some of my favorite episodes. Hopefully he can inject new life into the show (and make Caskett less awkward most of the time).

The first thing David should do is that he should hire William Beall to write the stories for episodes once again. William had written the stories of some of the most brilliant episodes of Castle and I’m pretty sure he can continue to do so.

YES, YES, YES!!! You took the words out of my mouth! However, I think Beall just wants to focus on feature films, unfortunately. That was why he left. He couldn’t juggle writing TV and movie scripts at the same time. But yes, he was definitely the best writter the show ever had.

ITS A GREAT IDEA……BEFORE THAT LAST EPISODE 10 MILLION VIEWERS……AFTER THAT LAST EPISODE …..I MILLION ……..EVERYONE AT CASTLE LED THE FANS TO THINK THERE WOULD BE A WEDDING…THEN BOOM. THE WORST EPISODE EVER….TO MIX THAT IST HALF NONSENSE WITH A HAMPTON WEDDING ..THEN THAT ENDING WAS THE WORST…IDEA…………THERE SHOULD BE A WHOLE EPISODE FOR THE WEDDING …….LIKE MURDER HE WROTE…….AS A MATTER OF FACT THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE LAST EPISODE…..IT WAS A BIG JOKE TO THEM.?????????? STANA WILL GET THE FANS BACK …..BUT EVERYONE WANTS AFTER 5 YEARS A BEAUTIFUL HAMPTONS WEDDING…PLENTY OF EPISODES FOR MURDER…………..

What? Because I don’t worship Stana the way this ridiculous fandom does? Sorry to burst your Stanatic bubble, but there are other reasons to enjoy this show. Difference of opinion = troll. Well, then, I’m a troll I guess, no skin off my back.

You may not be a troll, but it doesn’t make your comments any less dumb. Your first post said she’s a terrible actress who can’t bring fans back too the show. And then your next comment says this “ridiculous” fandom worships her. Which is it? She can’t be both. You are of course entitled to your opinion, but the fact is that Stana is right there with Fillion as the two most important people for the show and she is a huge draw for a lot of
of Castle fans. I also have to chuckle and you acting indignant because your differing opinion got you labeled a troll, but you’ve stated that anyone who disagrees with you is ridiculous and a Stanatic. I interact with plenty of people who are in no way obsessive Stana fans, but still respect her talents as an actress and enjoy the character of Kate Beckett.

Huh ? I’m the first to think all the Stana Katic’s obsession from some fans is too much, but there’s no need to be in a ”Stanatic bubble” as you call it to see she’s a good actress and definitely not “the worst of the show”. Just look at Sucker Punch, Knockout or Kill Shot …

You wish. For you to notice her acting chops at all, reveals that you know she is too, too good. I also know that you are aware but is trying to force yourself into ‘Denial’. I am sort of sorry it is not working for you. Keep at it. Don’t allow yourself to go crazy, because it will be a very difficult task ahead. GOOD LUCK! -To dream the impossible dream.
BTW, read my lips,the subject is new leadership, not Stana,

Interesting AM must need the time to develop his Raymond Chandler-esque show, Amann is a good choice though IMO he’s been behind some of my fav’s as I’m one of the few Castle fans that enjoy the serious side of the show. I totally understand peoples frustration with the finale but I encourage them not to give up on the show, it is clear that the plot-lines are starting to transition from Beckett’s stuff with her mom to a more Castle centered arc which is much needed IMO I thought they dragged out her mom stuff too long. Unfortunately that means things like what happened to Castle on the season finale were bound to pop up, not my first choice for a story arch set up but whatever. I’m excited to see how Amann does and how the show will evolve from here.

I think you may have hit on one of the basic problems of this show. It’s called CASTLE but from early on he has not been the center of the show. Like it or not, BECKETT is a much easier character to write about. After season 1, other than TARGET/HUNT, she has had many more episodes where she was the entire story and he was relegated to side-kick status. Personally, I think FBOW was created to prevent KB from being the star of the season finale as a bride would naturally be. I’ve always liked that balance and would prefer it continue but only time will tell. 7X1 will say a lot about the remaining episodes.

I’m the opposite. I don’t think her mom’s story was “dragged out” long enough. As the biggest story arc of the show (besides the love story), I feel like it shouldn’t have ended until the show ended. I did love how it ended, though. Veritas is one of the best episodes of the entire series.

You are not alone. I, too enjoy the serious side more. The comedic episodes had gotten silly. But I fear that Nathan is not very good with the serious parts. He has been dumbed enough. His funny wasn’t funny either. Where would that leave Nathan? He’s not bad when he puts some effort into it.

I’m not surprised. As other posters have note, Mr. Marlowe will be developing other projects for ABC-TV. Happy that he will have a continued presence with the show; how could he not, he created the show. Mr. Amann and his team will continue to do ‘Castle’ proud. Every success to everyone connected with the show during Season 7.

I’ve got a feeling there is more to this change than the awful finale. It feels like he may have tired of behind the scenes in-fighting about the direction of the series and simply decided to move on to other projects. The bit of his still being around is a way of saying he’ll still be paid, similar to what happens when a head coach gets fired but hangs on in an advisory capacity. Hope the new group can get the show back to it’s original standard in what I expect will be the final season.

I wish everyone well connected with the show. I, too, believe that Season 7 will be the final season for the show. Many of the actors are spreading their wings beyond ‘Castle.’ This is understandable. Many network shows never reach a seventh season. Five seasons on TV is often considered a successful run. ‘Castle’ has surpassed that number and has consistently averaged 10 million viewers per week, beating other ABC-TV shows, ‘Scandal,’ ‘Grey’s Anatomy.’ ‘Castle’ has done that, by the way, with little and/or no PR from ABC-TV. TNT, that broadcasts ‘Castle’ reruns, promotes the show more than ABC-TV.

I will also watch no matter what hours Marlow spends on Castle. I love to watch Stana and Nathan solve mysteries and I like all the characters in the show! Hoping season 7 is only the beginning of 7 more!

I am so excited about this news! Marlowe was well past his sell-by date. Although I am grateful to Marlowe for creating such wonderful characters (Castle and Beckett) I don’t think he knew how to write them after the WTWT stage of the story.

I am now looking forward to the season premier and plan to watch it live instead of recording it and maybe watching after learning what happened.

Although I would normally hate this idea, I really hope David Amann will turn the entire finale episode into either Castle or Beckett’s nightmare so the show can set off on a “reset” hopefully right before the wedding.

Castle is one of the best shows on TV, and I am not going to beat-up on Marlowe for one episode that I didn’t completely like. We all know Castle is still around and there will be a
wedding. I do hope the new writer and his staff can keep the show on the high level that Marlowe and his staff started it on.

If Amann can maintain and produce better continuity and not rewrite a character’s history in order to serve a story idea (i.e. making Alexis stupid with that whole Pi thing and Beckett having been married before when it had already been established she was a “one and done” type) I’m all for him becoming the show runner. Season seven or a possible season eight will most likely be the end of the show’s run so it shouldn’t (hopefully) cause too much disruption of a well-oiled production machine. I don’t know how Fillion actually feels about though since most of the stories Amann had written have been more Beckett friendly, so to speak, than Castle centered. I already knew Marlowe was in the process of developing other stuff for ABC so it doesn’t surprise me that he needs to better split his time.

Please, Shonda Rhimes can run three shows. Having Marlowe step down to develop ABC new shows is hardly an excuse. There got to be more problems behind the scene than people think (starting with Fillion). I suspect season 7 will be the show’s last.

Gonna give everybody a tarot card reading while you’re at it? I mean if you’re gonna go around making stuff up and using your intuition, make a little money at it. Don’t know why it didn’t occur to you that that’s a choice Shonda made in terms of her work schedule when not everybody wants to be that busy, plus Shonda’s got other people helping her do it so its not as if she’s doing it all herself. Castle’s still one of the highest rated scripted shows on ABC when many other series were recently shown to be losing double digits % in the ratings. ABC won’t be canning it unless the ratings drop or Nathan tries to leave, and if Marlowe thought the show’d end after one more year he’d stick around for that. He probably knows, if anything, that it’s likely to go on for awhile longer.

I’m surprised for sure. I do think this could be the thing the show needs though. It was getting stale to me. I felt some bad creative decisions were made in season six, whether AWM was spreading himself too thin or whatever, culminating in a truly terrible finale episode.

I thank AWM for all he gave to Castle, but I do eagerly await what David Amann can bring. I’m excited.

Castle is long overdue for a fresh set of eyes. The show was at its best in S1-2; decline started in S3 (but looking better in hindsight since it further declined from there); S4 season of secrets dragged out the WT/WT ridiculously but thankfully ended with Always; hoped for show to be reenergized with the WT/WT resolution and the new chapter of Castle & Beckett as a romantic couple, but getting the couple together didn’t make the writing better unfortunately. It’s become clear that they don’t really know how to write a happy, committed couple together in an interesting, fun way. They failed to capitalize on the heat and sizzle a romantic couple should have (instead, dialing it way down!) and failed for the most part to delve into relationship issues in a compelling way. S5 ended with just about the worst, least romantic proposal ever and Marlowe robbed us of what should have been a romantic, joyful moment forever by giving us a proposal where it was supposed to seem like they were breaking up! S6 involved dragging out boring, superficial wedding planning that indicated they were running out of stories to tell, culminating in a ridiculously cliched marriage from the past and burning car cliffhanger.

So I’m glad to see a new showrunner in place as Marlowe seemed to be running low in his creative tank for the show. Bold changes are needed to bring back the qualities of the show at its best in the early seasons.

If I were the showrunner, I would:

– Bring back the smart, witty banter, bouncing back and forth between Castle & Beckett; stop dumbing down the dialogue. Please rewatch S1/2 episodes to see how good the show was then and what it got right! Stop insisting on a gimmick/themed crime every single episode. Stop making the crime/interrogation/home scenes so formulaic. Let us see Castle & Beckett doing fun, personal things. Like go on a date (it’s mindboggling we’ve yet to see them on a date). Or engage in ridiculously fun Castle hobbies like laser tag. Let us see them have a social life. They don’t have to be drinking wine on their couch, sitting 3 feet apart every episode and having mostly superficial conversation.
– Bring back the sexual tension, sexual attraction, the longing, the yearning, the passion, the heat, whatever you want to call it. The Sex. Castle and Beckett demonstrated sexual chemistry in spades before they got together, and there should be more of that, not less now that they are. Sometimes innuendo isn’t enough, you’ve got to show the actions. Lots more eye sex never hurts.
– Stop with the interrupted kisses/barely there kisses. Enough already. That is so out of date. This is a 10 p.m. adult show. Look at how The Good Wife is writing intimacy in adult relationships if you don’t want to look at cable shows.
– Stop dumbing down Castle and making him a buffoon and doormat so much of the time. Stop having Beckett best him at everything and have the last word every single time. They should be written as equals; let the man win at something in his life some time. I don’t just want to laugh at him. I don’t ever want to see him shun sex with Beckett for scrabble or video games or anything else. That was never funny. Where’s the guy who should be desiring the woman he’s chased after all these years all the time? I want the ruggedly handsome, confident, suave, sensitive man that we saw in S1/2. Someone who can still tease and chase Beckett and make her blush and swoon and surprise her.
– Show us more of Castle’s world as a writer. The pressures, the perks, the murders there if you want. His identity as a writer is interesting to explore otherwise this would be just like any other cop show. It doesn’t have to be all precinct, all the time. Explore what Beckett as a muse means to Castle and how that’s evolved now they are together. Have Beckett tell Castle how much his books have meant to her since her mother died. Show Beckett in Castle’s world as a famous writer. Surely you can have them all dressed up and having a good time until a body drops at a gala or something.
– Delve into issues Castle & Beckett should be addressing as a couple (money matters, fame matters, loves & annoying habits, new discoveries about each other, what their hopes and dreams and fears are etc.)
– Give the secondary characters more to do other than exposition. Mix up the dynamics a bit but more family time with Castles is always good. Deeper characterization all around wouldn’t hurt.
– Characters should always come ahead of plot. S4 (Castle angry at Beckett without talking to her)/5 (Beckett wondering where they were going without really talking to Castle)/6 ending arcs were all poorly conceived and came across as very manufactured. Characterization was damaged during these arcs. No more such contrivances, please.

I hope the new showrunner remembers what they did best, and brings back the sexy and the fun and the energy to Castle.

This is way too long already, but just the beginning of improvements that can be made to make the show all it can be.

Your post is probably the most mature, insightful and brilliant I’ve ever read from anyone commenting on this show. I love your analysis, especially your point about character over plot. Also, the show’s non-use of its secondary characters is shameful as they are all fantastic actors whose talents are being wasted. Because of the many weaknesses that you laid out in your post, Castle seems little more than a high school harlequin romance novel.

I like the development of the show and characters. I enjoyed the entire season, except I thought the last 5 minutes of the finale was poorly executed.

You seem to want a different show than what is being produced. The whole point of the show is a writer following a detective around to get character and story ideas. You seem to want a soap opera or domestic drama. Castle isn’t The Waltons or Dallas or Melrose Place. I don’t want to see Castle and Beckett go on a date or argue over money matters. Everything shown in the show should revolve around solving the COTW. I want to watch them solve murders. It’s a murder mystery show first and foremost, that’s the show I watch and am always entertained by it.

LGC’s post I replied to has so many issues with how the show progressed I don’t know why anyone would continue to watch a show that needs that many changes.

The romance takes up only about 10% of an episode, if that, while the COTW is the other 90%. Every episode includes a murder but not every episode has romance. To me that makes it a murder mystery. The new show runner might want to take the show in a different direction, that is his prerogative, but I would suggest a name change because it would become a complete different show.

This is the most spot on, adult, succinct comment written on this subject. Hopefully, someone from the show or from ABC will read this and reconnect with the story telling from where they have sadly gone astray under Marlowe. Unfortunately, I have always had the feeling that once his 7-year contract was up, NF was not going to re-sign. Let’s enjoy what possibly will be our last season of Castle. Good Luck, David.

I was going to say that you seem to dislike the show so much maybe you should have switched off long ago but you do have some great ideas for developing the characters further into Season 7 and hopefully beyond. If Amman moves on maybe you should apply for the job.

You definitely hit the nail on the head about this show. Maybe you should consult with the writers. I agree that the show has lost its original spark. I used to watch it “live” the first couple of years. Wouldn’t miss it. Now I record and watch when I get a chance. It would be great if the characters were treated with more respect.

I so agree with the above comments about the great first seasons of Castle. Hope future writing will evolve with humour, wit and fun experiences with the whole cast. Love the show and hope it continues for years. Keep the humour please . . .

Good-bye and good riddance. The season ender left me fed up and unlikely to watch the first ep of next season. This show was fun because it was a different take on the traditional murder mystery — more light hearted. It was different but it’s slowly fallen into the overdone over used long story arcs and season ending cliffhangers. Don’t they get that if everybody’s doing them there is nothing original about it. Hopefully the new person will improve things.

OMG….people need to GET OVER the way season 6 ended!!! It’s a tv show….AND it’s called a ‘cliff-hanger’ for a reason!I admit-I would be royally pissed off if the show ENDED that way, but come one- everyone knew the’d be back for season 7!! In the minutes before the finale aired….everyone was praising Marlowe then just because it didn’t end the way people wanted it to-right away- “I’m done watching-Marlowe sucks-he ruined the entire series….get real! I for one will be anxiously waiting for Sept to see exactly what the writers have up their sleeves! As I’m sure many others will be too!!! If you are a TRUE fan of the show….so will you! :)

So the audience should just watch any dung Marlowe heaves out the barn doors and be happy about it? If that’s what you want to do, great, but I and most people expect more than recycled plots from 80’s TV shows – “oh, she doesn’t know she’s married”… REALLY???

The best way to register your disgust with the garbage being “offered” is not to watch series 7. If enough people are like-minded then the ratings will drop and either the writers will be given the silver bullet or the show will be pulled!

Your sure can’t deny the parallels. I always wondered if Marlowe was or is friends with AS-P. As much as I dislike the entire season since it was BORING and lame on the Caskett front and well don’t get me started on the finale (please leave your brain at the door before stepping into the viewing room) BUT Gilmore girls was way more f**ed up by the end of season 6 than Castle probably can ever be.
I’m ok with Marlowe’s or ABC’s decision but I kinda doubt we’ll get some fresh ideas or views since Marlowe will still be there and I guess will still call the shots or influence Amann.
My hope is though that we’ll finally get to SEE stuff on screen and not be told how it was supposed to be through interviews.
This entire season was a waste of time. Why the hell did we have to sit through episode after episode listening to boring wedding stuff that had no outcome whatsoever when Marlowe knew right from the beginning it wouldn’t happen anyway ?
I never expected that kind of wedding anyway but Marlowe’s bs reaction to why they couldn’t get hitched now ? They still need to go through things? You had an entire season for them to go through things but NO we had to sit and listen to them agreeing or rather not agreeing on things like venues and guests. Magically everything was sorted out by the end of the season but of course there was this one teeny tiny thing that never popped up in Beckett’s multiple background checks for the NYPD and FBI. Not to mention the nice guys from the IRS never knocking on Beckett’s door in all those years ? Or better yet Beckett was presented as being smart and wanting to become the first female chief of justice …. and you seriously wanna tell me she never in all those years thought: Mmmmm maybe that Vegas thing was legal after all.

It’s lame storytelling but after the mess Marlowe left, can we please rewind and have the last episode be a dream ? Can we please have Beckett be in a coma after she got hit over the head with that bottle in Veritas ? We still can have her dreaming about the elephants and finding the tape and getting Bracken down that way but everything else…let it be a dream.

Although on the other hand I hope the stubble Nathan is trying to grow is meant for the season premiere …. it’s definitely working for me.

Well whatever the case, I’m sticking around for the good storytelling. I even made a wedding day video using Castle fan art. Was I ticked when it didn’t happen? YES. But will I quit the show. NO NO NO! This girl is a true fan to the end.

Yes! You’re right on!!! Especially the intimaticy, or lack of, between Caskett. I, too, wondered why when they’re on the couch, to sit so far apart from each other, or when they’re in bed, why can’t Kate have her head on his shoulder, cuddled together talking intimatel. I too, hope the writers see your post. Hey, maybe they can hire you as a consultant. And let’s not forget, this is also part comedy. We knew that from the very first episode of Season 1

I think several assumptions are being made for which we do not know the facts. First did AM step down or was he asked, Management never discloses the real reason. As Showrunner he is responsible for entire show, but did ABC signoff on the Finale script and once the fans erupted is he the one taking the fall, again, we will never know for sure. Someone mentioned he chose his successor, again, fact or assumption was David A waiting in the wings, or did ABC go to him to pull the burning car out of a ditch? It will be years after the final curtain call before we get some answers to questions, but as in other shows, things seldom are how we see them in reality, perhaps it was just his time, or perhaps ABC is reacting to several fans storming their website with letters of complaint. Thank You Andrew, Best of Luck David, I would love to see the show for several more years.

I’m okay with this. David Amann has written some great episodes and Andrew will still be around. I do hope it brings some good changes like less ensemble/secondary character-driven episodes and more Castle/Beckett intimacy. Aside from the finale and the Pi crap, season 6 is right next to season 3 in my favorite Castle seasons ever so I don’t think the show needs any drastic change moving forward. I love how dramatic this season was. I think the serious side of this show is much better than the lighter/funny side, so I’d like to see that continue.

Lemme guess…………….Joss Whedon! And the entire cast other than Nathan Fillion (and possibly Molly Quinn because she’s a megahottie) is being let go and replaced by Summer Glau, Gina Torres, Jewel Staite, Morena Baccarin, Adam Baldwin, and Sean Maher. Fillion’s character is being renamed Malcolm Reynolds, the show is renamed Firefly, and the premise is changed to that of the previous show Firefly.

That’s the only way I’ll watch Castle.

Oh, and undo Wash and Book’s death too, and reveal that the Operative didn’t get Badger.

and that’s part of the problem with a lot of the so called “Castle” fans. They have at one time or another seen a show called “Firefly” which lasted some 12 episodes more then a decade ago and they never grew up! And that and Mr. Fillion is all they are interested in. Well time to get over it people. Fillion is a middle aged actor who has a great job on a highly rated show now. He is not Mal Reynolds . Do you really think all he is capable of doing is being a yes man to Joss Whedon? if so, then good luck to him. See him in some cartoon or voice over job I guess. Oh but he did Whedon’s “much ado about nothing” sure for little or no pay and appeared for about 5 minutes!! Don’t think he is that stupid!

And I want the cast being let go and replaced by Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, Matt Leblanc and David Schwimmer. And the show is renamed Friends. That’s the only way I’ll watch Castle.

Good. The show needs some new blood. The writing in the earlier seasons was much better need to get some gusto into the stories. Someone has to get ABC to do promote the show. It’s better than most of the shows on ABC.

Andrew u will be missed. U have us all talking about Castle final of season 6. Great job. I hope u still put your input on the series. Thank u for keeping us guessing with Castle and Beckett. Looking forward to what u r developing now. Thanks again to u and your wife. Good luck in all u do. Take care

Exactly! I said it before and I´m saying it again – if there are so many people talking about the finale, then the writter´s goal has been achieved!
Anyway, thank you Andrew for a great show and good luck to David, I believe he´ll be able to maintain “Castle” as one of my favourite shows (I loved the episodes he wrotte so far, so no reason to doubt his ability):)